This invention relates in general to a travel and transportation information system, and in particular to an integrated database system that communicates with a credit card provider and a travel planner to match travel plans to credit card receipts.
Historically, corporate travel has often escaped the close scrutiny by management that was used for every other function of the corporation. Travel dollars were seen as a necessary evil and were spent until the corporate balance sheet showed more problem than promise. Recently, corporations have aggressively examined every process and paradigm to re-engineer and transform themselves into a lean and highly-productive corporate machine that can support success and growth. As a result, travel dollars became one of the first expenses tightly controlled or cut.
Given that approximately $130 billion were spent on travel in 1994, Corporate Travel Managers are examining and implementing a variety of solutions to manage costs and change the aura that typically surrounds corporate travel expenses. For example, corporations have consolidated travel management in credit card services, published corporate travel policies, and mandated the use of preferred travel providers.
Corporate policies, however, that force a frequent traveler to sit through a two hour connection or stay in a less than mid-line hotel off the beaten path have driven the typical frequent traveler to come up with creative ways to circumvent the travel policy in order to meet their own personal requirements. Frequent travelers are bypassing policy at every turn to maintain their productivity and to take advantage of any perks that compensate them for long hours away from home. This scenario compounds the already huge information deficit Corporate Travel Managers are struggling to resolve including travelersxe2x80x2 circumvention of corporate policy which results in travel data being totally lost.
From a corporate standpoint, travel has an impact on the traveler, the Corporate Travel Manager, the Department Manager, Accounts Payable and the Corporation itself. The traveler seeks an easy and fast way to arrange travel. Under conventional methods, however, the traveler must arrange trips through a series of telephone conversations with a travel management firm or agency. In addition, the traveler seeks an automated expense reporting system. Present methods which combine manual and automated forms may require repetitive data input of previously requested travel information for report presentation. In addition, the approval and reimbursement of expenses is typically manual.
The Corporate Travel Manager needs a true summary of the total corporate travel expenses by category. Presently, the Corporate Travel Manager may estimate travel expenses and category breakdowns based upon report information from Travel Management Firms, corporate credit card companies, or preferred vendors. These estimates may be inaccurate, however, if the traveler made on-the-road trip changes, did not comply with usage of corporate travel agencies or credit card, or stayed in a hotel that is not the same as the one which was booked. Corporate Travel Managers must also stay informed as to the status of preferred vendor agreements. Historically, summaries of the corporation""s actual market share performance was provided by travel management firms or the preferred vendor. These summaries, however, were typically not provided on a timely basis, provided minimal information on a pre-travel basis, and provided no method for self-validation of performance.
Department managers need pre-travel reporting of travel expenses and possible violations of travel policy. Presently, random manual notification of policy violations is provided by travel management firms to the Corporate Travel Manager. Typically, this notification is insufficient or not timely enough to allow Department Managers to enforce corporate policy on a pre-travel basis. Department Managers also desire an automated expense reporting system. Current methods require manual processing of approval and reimbursements of expenses by Department Managers.
Accounts Payable desires an automated processing system for expense reports. Current methods require manual auditing, posting, and payments of expense reports.
Many of the limitations on the current corporate travel planning and management systems stem from the corporate traveler""s dependence on travel management firms. Travel management firms currently function as the central hub for all travel service and information regarding travel for the corporate traveler. There is a total reliance on the travel management firm by the travelers for trip planning and management as well as by the Corporate Travel Managers for summary reporting.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a corporate travel planning and management system which operates on a corporate database environment that allows automated travel planning from a corporate traveler""s desktop, pre-travel decision support to inform a corporation of planned travel expenditures before corporate dollars are spent, and automated expense reporting.
There is also a need for automatic matching of credit card receipts to travel records to facilitate preparation of expense reports by travelers.
Systems and methods consistent with the principles of the present invention address these needs by having an integrated database system that formats credit card receipt data and travel plans to allow for automatic comparison of the data.
A system and method consistent with the principles of the present invention receives travel data with travel segments and expense receipts. Merchant information is extracted from each expense receipt and a chain code is assigned based on the merchant information. The assigned chain code is compared to chain codes associated with the travel data.
In one embodiment, merchant information is found in each travel segment. A chain code associated with the merchant information is determined. The chain codes associated with the travel segments are matched to the expense receipts by comparing chain codes associated with both.
In alternative embodiments many different pieces or combinations of pieces of data in the expense receipts and the travel data are compared to attempt to match the receipts to the travel segments. For example, travel dates and times may be used as the matching parameter.